Then in Sunday School the other day, we were given 2 lists. It was called a Self-Assessment. There was a list called "The Orphan" and another called "The Son/Daughter".
Some of the things on "The Orphan" were:
- Lives on a success/fail basis
- Struggles to trust things to God
- Feels discouraged or defeated
- Solution to failure: "Try Harder"
- A "competent analyst" of other's weaknesses
- Tends to compare yourself with others
Some of the things on "The Son/Daughter" were:
- Not fearful of God
- Freedom from making a name for yourself
- Content in relationships because you are accepted by God
- Is teachable by others
- Content with what Christ has provided
- Doesn't always have to be right
- Is able to freely confess your faults to others
- Experiences more and more victory over the flesh
- God truly satisfies your soul
The exercise was to identify tendencies you see in yourself in the first list and places you most want to grow in the second list.
I wanted so badly to check things off and to feel the sense of accomplishment. Instead I began to feel deep conviction. I was focused on the first list. The struggles are deep. The failure is felt. I for once didn't want to check everything on the list.
And then I thought about the second list. It wasn't a list of things we are good at. It was a list of things that we wanted to have God grow in us. Wow. I'm not responsible for the second list. He is. I can ask but it's not about me doing something. It's about faith in knowing He will.
Grace. Check that off!
